This invention is directed to a device for releasing wheeled toy vehicles onto a track or support surface. Further, the device is capable of energizing these vehicles such that the vehicles move across the track or support surface.
A class of wheeled vehicles known under the trade name POP CYCLES.TM. and distributed by the assignee of this invention have found wide acceptance in the marketplace. One design for these vehicles is that of a motorcycle. This POP CYCLE.TM. has typical front and back wheels which are rotatably mounted to the motorcycle body. A rider is positionable on the toy in several positions, however, the rider need not be part of the toy for the toy to function. The front wheel is of a common design and typically is formed of a plastic material as is the body and rider portion of the toy. The rear wheel differs from the front wheel in that it serves as a flywheel and thus is preferredly formed of a material of a sufficient mass, such as a metal or the like.
For normal operation of the above described POP CYCLE.TM., an elongated flexible element having a gear rack along one edge is inserted between a pinion fixedly attached to the rear wheel and a guide formed on the body of the motorcycle. After insertion the element is pulled in the opposite direction such that the rack on the elongated flexible element engages the pinion and spins the pinion and the rear wheel. This causes the rear wheel to spin rapidly and since it has sufficient mass, its spinning is maintained by the flywheel effect of the mass. The POP CYCLE.TM. can then be set on a support surface or a track and propelled by the kinetic energy of the flywheel type rear wheel.
When a single child has several of these toys, or when two or more children each have one, a contest as to who has the "hottest" POP CYCLE.TM. naturally ensues. If a single child is matching two or more of his POP CYCLES.TM. against one another, he can only activate one at a time, and as such, as he sequentially activates them, some of the kinetic energy stored in the flywheels of the earlier activated units is dissipated prior to placement of all of the units simultaneously on a support surface or track. Inevitably, the last unit to be so activated therefore wins the race.
If two or more children are competing their POP CYCLES.TM. against one another, the amount of kinetic energy which one child can supply to his POP CYCLE.TM. compared to another sometimes varies because of manual dexterity, strength and the like of the children. Thus, a race between two such POP CYCLES.TM. sometimes does not reflect which of the POP CYCLES.TM. was "the hottest", but simply reflects the dexterity or strength of the child operating the same.